Bridge weight limit to increase Truckers poised for Dec. 5 shift to allow 100,000-pound rigs

VERONA – Truckers will get a break next month as the state Department of Transportation increases the weight limit on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge to 100,000 pounds.

The department will upgrade the limit from 80,000 pounds on Dec. 5, based on the performance of supplemental cables that were added to the bridge two years ago, according to DOT’s chief engineer’s office. Officials plan to use technology already in place to monitor compliance with the new weight limit.

DOT lowered the weight limit on the bridge to 24,000 pounds in July 2003 after discovering that it had deteriorated to the point that it was unsafe for heavy truck traffic. A $4 million strengthening project, which added support cables to the 74-year-old structure, allowed the department to raise the weight limit to 80,000 pounds later that year.

“Now that the supplemental cables have performed flawlessly for two winters and structural steel and deck repairs have been completed, Maine DOT’s Bridge Posting Committee has determined that the bridge is safe to carry 100,000 pounds until the new bridge is open,” Chief Engineer Chip Getchell said in a statement released Tuesday.

Vehicles weighing more than 80,000 pounds that try to cross the bridge before Dec. 5 will still be subject to fines, according to Getchell.

DOT reviewed the weight limit after truckers raised concerns about the impact of higher fuel prices upon transportation costs, according to Getchell. Industry representatives and the department both recognized that rerouting trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds created a substantial financial burden.

Currently, trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds must travel to Bangor to cross the Penobscot River, a detour of up to 44 miles. Since the I-395 Bridge is off-limits (except for jet fuel transport), most of these vehicles must travel on local streets through Bangor and Brewer. That adds to the travel time and has raised safety issues in those communities.

“The people don’t want us there, and we don’t want to be there,” Pat Sirois, a representative on the Maine Forest Products Council who works on logging and transportation issues, said.

“Our reaction is a positive one,” Sirois said of the increased weight limit. “We were hearing from forest product haulers that as fuel prices went up, they were beginning to suffer. That 44 extra miles means the loss of a trip a day. That could be as much as 25 [percent] to 30 percent of an operation. That’s significant.”

Increasing the weight limit will have a positive impact at the International Paper Co. mill in Bucksport, spokesman Bill Cohen said.

“There are going to be a number of truckers that will not have to go the long way around. That’s an impact, and it’s a positive one,” Cohen said Tuesday. “We’re already hearing from some truckers that they will not have to go around or that they will be able to increase their load. That’s two different ways it’s going to impact us.”

The decision to increase the weight limit will get some large trucks out of downtown Bangor and Brewer and reduce the financial burden incurred by truckers and distributors, according to Getchell. It will save approximately 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel per month.

With the weight limit increase, the department plans to increase weight enforcement at the bridge using a retrofitted Weigh-in-Motion, or WIM, site on Verona Island. Similar to advisory speed displays, the WIM site will display each vehicle’s weight as it crosses the site. A special camera will automatically photograph any overweight truck, capturing its license plate and company name and listing its gross weight and a time-date stamp.

DOT officials are not seeking to have summonses issued based on pictures taken, according to a department statement. However, if a carrier repeatedly exceeds the weight limit, the photos will be provided to the state police and the Motor Carrier Review Board for follow-up.

The trucking industry, pleased with the weight limit increase, recognizes the need to ensure that trucks weighing more than 100,000 pounds do not cross the bridge. To that end, the Maine Motor Transport Association and the Maine Forest Products Council support the WIM enforcement measures. Local mills and truckers have committed to a number of measures aimed at keeping trucks in compliance.

Other measures to ensure that the bridge remains safe and serviceable include a 300-foot truck spacing requirement, continued acoustic monitoring of the main cables, regular verification of survey control points, bridge inspection by on-site DOT crews and auditing of mill weight slips.